It's Never for Me Anymore
by MrJamesileee
Summary: based on a tumblr conversation about Shay smiling at her phone and texting all the time but saying it's never for her anymore- and how the Shafferty shippers believe that it's Rafferty on the other end of the phone.
1. Chapter 1

so this was totally out of nowhere. based on tumblr conversations about how Shay has been looking at/smiling at her phone a lot lately. i've had the idea in my head for a fic for a while but this wasn't where i was planning on taking it. just a crappy little one-shot but i hope y'all like it. please read and review. i need feedback to keep me rolling. thanks and enjoy. (i may write a different version of this plot sometime in the near future- i'm not very pleased with how it turned out. it was quick and random and not at all thought out, which bothers me.)

It's Never for Me Anymore.

'Liar,' Gabriela Dawson thought- and nearly said aloud- after watching Leslie Shay pick up her phone, smile, type and put it away as though it had never happened, for the fifth time in one calm half-hour in the common room.

_Of course, _Dawson wanted to call her on it and _of course_ she would; she just knew better than to do it in front of Severide and all the rest of the boys.

Despite Shay saying the phone was never for her anymore, which would imply that nobody was trying to contact her, she sure had been spending a lot of time clicking at her cell recently. Dawson had obviously noticed, knowing her partner's routines, and was unaware that it was obvious to _everyone._

Shay's phone beeped _again _and this time nearly every member of the table lifted their head up in curiosity.

"You're pretty popular, huh?" Mouch nodded, not expecting to begin a conversation and going back to his ham sandwich as though he had said nothing.

Before Shay had a chance to reply- her mouth open with some sharp comeback- Severide spoke up, the smirk on his face finally taking over and forcing him to speak.

"Yeah. How _is _Rafferty, anyway?" Kelly grinned his biggest grin, drawing Shay's eyes away from her cell phone (for the first time in the entire meal) with horror.

"_Rafferty?_" Shay scoffed, setting her phone down beside her as though that would make her friends forget that she'd been staring at it for the last thirty minutes, not counting all of the other times (in the rig, in the locker room) that she had been drawn to it today. "What about Rafferty?" she played dumb but couldn't look Kelly in the eye, which caused him to burst out laughing. Dawson wanted to laugh along with him but she knew that she had to spend the rest of the day working along side the girl.

"Yes, _Rafferty_," Kelly laughed. "How is she doing?"

"What would make you think that I even know how Rafferty is doing?" Shay rolled her eyes. She did a good job of pretending, honestly. Anyone who didn't know her very well would have believed that she had no idea what her best friend was talking about. Too bad nearly everyone at the table knew her better than that.

"Well you're talking to her, right?" Kelly asked, still smiling. "Every time your phone blows up nowadays you get this shitty grin. That can only mean it's Rafferty," he shrugged pointedly and smiled even bigger.

"I- um... I could have some awesome secret girlfriend," Shay argued, her face reddening as she spoke, despite her best efforts.

"Yeah... Rafferty," Kelly said, causing the entire table to burst into laughter.

"Shut up! Rafferty is _not _ my secret girlfriend," Shay told them, eyes wide.

"So who is?" Cruz jumped in, even though he knew better.

For one of the first times in her life, Shay was speechless. She could have come up with some witty answer but her defenses were up and she was too slow on the reaction.

"Your mom," she said, but it was far too late and only made all of her friends laugh harder. She slammed her forehead onto the table top because there was nowhere to run.

"Well tell Rafferty we said 'hi'," Kelly told her, calming his laughter.

"She really isn't my secret girlfriend," Shay swore, and no one knew if she was being honest or not.

"Of course she's not," Kelly patted her back, calming her into thinking this was all just a big joke. "You couldn't have a secret girlfriend if you tried."


	2. Chapter 2

thank you all for the reads, reviews and suggestions. thanks to msweener19 for the feedback. i decided to _not_ make this a one-shot since i wasn't sure i loved where i had taken it. i still don't know how long it will end up being. i need to keep working on under the milky way so we'll see where this goes. this is another short chapter, just to change the pace a bit and actually incorporate Rafferty. let me know what y'all think. thanks so much. enjoy.

2.

"Seriously, tell her we said hi. We miss her," Severide told Shay, sincerely this time. The laughter at the table had died down almost entirely.

** "Everyone at 51 says hi,"** Shay typed into her phone quickly, glaring at Severide.

**"Yeah, right," **was Rafferty's instant reply.

**"No, seriously. Everyone's been on my ass for being on my phone all the time," **Shay explained.

**"But how do they know it's me you're talking to?"**

** "Severide called me out. Dick. He thinks you're my secret girlfriend ;)" **Shay smiled at the thought, forgetting that she was still surrounded by her friends who were analyzing her every facial expression.

"Woo woo!" Severide called out excitedly, pointing at Shay's phone. "What did she say?"

"She said, 'Yeah, right," Shay told him, causing a confused look to cross his face.

Shay's phone beeped again and everyone watched in anticipation for Shay's reaction.

**"You wish I was your secret girlfriend," **Rafferty replied.

**"Maybe," **Shay typed back simply, immediately regretting her honesty.

**"Do they know that we haven't even seen each other?" **Rafferty asked.

**"Doubt it. But we should change that," **Shay sent, followed by an immediate, **"?"**

"Rafferty and I haven't even seen each other since she got suspended," Shay told everyone hoping that it would get them off her case, or at least get them to change the subject for a while.

"Why not?" Dawson asked, genuinely wondering.

"Because she's not my secret girlfriend!" Shay laughed.

In her mind, Shay was nervously awaiting a response from Rafferty. In all honesty, they _had _been texting each other a lot lately. They would even share an occasional late-night phone call now and then. Shay wondered what it meant, if it meant anything at all. She and Rafferty had almost become friends during their partnership, but it seemed their relationship was shifting and Shay had to wonder if it was all in her head.

"We should have a house-warming party!" Otis piped up suddenly and Cruz rolled his eyes.

"What are we, a couple?" Cruz asked, causing the table to laugh.

"_No..._ but we are moving in together. And you could totally do worse than me," Otis countered. "So we should have a house-warming party and Shay can invite Rafferty."

"That's a great idea," Dawson said and Casey nodded along with her.

"I think that's a terrible idea," Shay told them.

"Why? We all need a reason to party anyway. We've been working our asses off lately," Severide said, and he was right.

"She probably wouldn't even come," Shay shrugged, worried that she still hadn't heard from the girl after suggesting that they see each other.

"Not everything is about _you_, Shay," Otis laughed. "We should have a party anyway."

Shay nodded in agreement. Rafferty or no Rafferty, it would be nice to hang out with her friends outside of 51 or Molly's.

The second that Shay's phone finally beeped, she was on it.

**"That sounds pretty gay, Shay," **was Rafferty's response, and Shay's face fell.

_Of course _it sounded pretty gay. And of course Rafferty would want nothing to do with that. But then her phone beeped again; the text was a simple winky face. Shay smiled.

"So Otis, Cruz, when's this party?" Shay asked, not bothering to wipe the smile off of her face.


End file.
